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I am sure that the recent changes in the South African cabinet, the 0.25% US interest rate hike, and the news that Fitch Ratings has cut our current outlook and economy to “junk” status has put considerable strain on your end-of-year holiday mind set.

Based on this rating, it will cost the South African reserve bank more than before to borrow from the World Bank. Furthermore, this rating has inspired doubt and a lack of confidence amongst foreign investors, which negatively impacts the markets due to outflows of money to these investors’ respective countries.

I hope that as the year starts to wind to a close that you have started to make plans to relax and to spend quality time with your nearest and dearest. In between planning parties, braais and seaside getaways, however, I would like to ask you to think about just a couple of things before the silly season gets properly underway:

Retrenchment is on the rise. According to Stats SA unemployment is up 1.8% year on year and is likely to worsen due to looming retrenchments in the mining industry.

Mining retrenchments will shake even seemingly solid ground.

Mining impacts our whole economy as it is the biggest single contributor to our GDP. Businesses that supply the mines with goods and services will most likely start feeling the pinch with orders for their products slowing down; forcing them to make difficult decisions too. And from there, their suppliers and manufacturers will experience the same pressure.

You can see how this ripple effect will have far-reaching consequences for a wide range of businesses and will affect many people.

161 000 People lost their jobs in the second quarter of this year alone.

This,coupled with the Stats SA report, shows that nobody’s job is safe anymore.

Take comfort in knowing you’re prepared for a turn of bad luck.

I have submitted four retrenchment claims on behalf of clients in the past 60 days. Thanks to their retrenchment benefit, these clients are receiving an income for a period of six months to assist them while they find a new job. They have peace of mind, knowing that they can still pay for all the things that need paying – school fees, bonds, vehicles, food – without stressing about when they’ll next have an income.

We offer the most comprehensive retrenchment cover in the market with Liberty paying you a monthly income for a period of six months if you are retrenched.

If you have not done so already, let’s look at adding the retrenchment benefit to your policy.

We don’t know what the future might hold, but we certainly can be prepared for it whatever it brings. Give me a call or send me a mail so that we can meet to discuss adding the retrenchment benefit to your policy.

As you may or may not already know, September is heart awareness month, which culminates in World Heart Month on the 29th of September. In 2013, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa published that statistics that revealed that about 130 heart attacks and 240 strokes occur daily in South Africa.

One trend that I have seen in my nine years of being a financial advisor is that whenever there is a downturn in economic conditions, and the cost of living becomes too high, clients tend to cancel their insurance policies or go hunting for new policies which they are told offer better different benefits at lower premiums….

The cost of living is always on the rise, and if you have someone who is financially dependent on you in any way- be they a spouse, child or elderly relative, it’s your responsibility to ensure they will be financially secure if you die.